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Schmidt lauds 'extraordinary' Chicharito

Cape Town - Bayer Leverkusen manager Roger Schmidt has praised the ability of striker Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez ahead of the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.

Leverkusen will host Diego Simeone's men for the first leg of their last-16 encounter on Tuesday, and Schmidt knows how important Chicharito will be for the hosts, but added that the entire team need to pull in the right direction.

"He's a player with extraordinary qualities. His goals and his experience are very important for us. But I don't want to focus too much on one player," he told Goal

"We need the mentality, the desire to win in every player of our team. That's the next step for the development of the young players in our squad." 

When asked how Leverkusen could beat their Spanish opposition, Schmidt added: "We will stay true to our style of play." 

"We're in the process of changing our squad and refreshing our team. The team should play with a lot of joy, without any worries. They should play their game, like they recently did in the Bundesliga, and give all they've got."

Kick off is at 21:45.

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